Chapter 9: Eat Right

He let go and Hiryu sank down, blinking and rather overwhelmed by the sudden fresh energy and warmth. Due to the short length of his leg chains Hiryu had to sit a little to the left with his legs half bent under him, and his arms remained hanging out on either side of him, also held by chains. But it was loose enough that the position was not entirely uncomfortable.

Getting over the shock of fresh energy, Hiryu watched the demon warily as Eigis settled down in front of him, close enough for the demon to reach him in an easy, cross-legged style, brushing off and straightening his clothes, licking off blood and apparently ignoring him for the moment. He wondered at the new development. What was the demon up to?

Eigis finished preening and glanced up. Catching sight of Hiryu’s uneasy frown, he grinned, showing off his long, sharp teeth.

“Oh yes, I’ve finished playing because I want to eat some more.” Snagging Hiryu’s right arm, he dragged it forward and started munching on the outer side of Hiryu’s wrist, working his way in small, slow bites up his arm. He stopped just short of the young man’s elbow however, an odd, fixed expression on his face as he stared at Hiryu.

“What?” Hiryu demanded.

The demon dropped his arm, neatly wiping blood off his face. At once Hiryu tried punching him. Eigis caught it easily, of course, twisting his arm until Hiryu screamed before finally letting go. Hiryu drew it back, though he glared, hating the demon and his own helplessness even more. His arm was throbbing fire, and he knew better than to try attacking again, much as he wished to. Eigis grinned briefly, but the strange, contemplative look returned to his usually mischievous, triangular face.

“I’ve been thinking about what you told me earlier, how you are a peculiar human who tries hunting demons. I’m surprised. Now that I’ve been chewing on you for a while, I expected you to realize the truth. That I am, in fact, your predator, and you are nothing more than something for me to eat.” Grabbing Hiryu’s arm again, he licked at the fresh bites until the wounds stopped bleeding. His eyes, however, remained fixed on the young man’s face. Hiryu got a sense that the demon was really looking at him for the first time. “And yet, even now, you don’t see yourself as my prey, do you?”

“Of course not,” Hiryu said firmly, raising his chin and jerking his arm free from the demon’s grasp. Eigis could have easily kept hold of it, but he let it go. “And I never will.”

The demon tilted his head sideways, his eyes bright with curiosity. “Why not?”

Hiryu paused, his mouth half parted, about to speak, and thought, surprised at the question. At last he shrugged, and regretted it as fire lanced up his back from where strips of skin had been ripped off.

“Hsss. Call it human dignity. I’ve never seen any reason to think of myself as just something for someone else to eat. I know demons eat people, of course, but ... somehow I just can’t accept that I’m prey. I have – had – plans for my life. I never expected I’d get eaten.” A brief look of pain crossed his face before he could hide it.

Eigis snorted, though he still seemed amazed. “Hmph. I should think it obvious.” He waved a taloned hand at Hiryu’s mangled body. “I’ve been eating you this entire time. Surely that makes it clear that you are prey, meant to be devoured. And you taste delicious.” He licked his lips.

“No!” Hiryu exclaimed. His eyes flashed and he jerked on his chains, as if to attack the demon, his hands balled into fists. Eigis leaned back and almost got up, startled. “No! I am NOT your prey!”

Far from being alarmed or even really listening to what he was saying, Eigis threw him a look of contempt, such as a rich lord might an angry, barking dog. “You’re being melodramatic human. Letting feelings blind you to the truth.” He stood up. One taloned hand pressed down on Hiryu’s head again as he bent close, until their faces were mere inches apart. His other hand tapped Hiryu’s bare chest. “You. Are. Something. For. Me. To. Eat. You are prey.”

“Oh?” Hiryu shot back, still angry. “Just because you can eat something doesn’t mean you should.”

Eigis chuckled and straightened up, only to run his talons down Hiryu’s left shoulder. Hiryu winced, and the demon brought his dripping red talons up to his mouth and licked the blood off them. He gave a mocking pout, crossing his arms.

“But,” He said, plaintively, “You taste so delicious. Surely that makes it right?”

Now it was Hiryu’s turn to snort at his enemies’ foolishness. “Hmph. That’s no excuse. Having something that tastes good doesn’t necessarily mean you should have it. I enjoy eating mangoes, but if I ate them all the time it’d make me sick.”

“Ah, but you do eat them sometimes, don’t you?” Eigis said, his expression turning crafty as he realized the flaw in Hiryu’s logic. “And besides, most anything is bad if you eat too much of it, or too quickly. I’ve been eating humans my entire life. If eating them were bad for me, don’t you think I would have found out before now?”

Hiryu frowned, but he couldn’t deny the demon’s point. He tried another tack. “Alright but have you ever tried eating anything else? Plants? Animals?”

Eigis stared at him as if he’d made a suggestion to try eating dirt.

“No,” He said shortly. “I haven’t. Would you try eating grass like a stag?” He smiled sweetly.

Hiryu scrunched up his face in disgust, and then frowned, remembering the exchange from earlier. Still, he had to shake his head. “No.”

Eigis waved a talon. “Well, there you are.”

“No.” Even though he was losing the argument, Hiryu still refused to give up. “I know it isn’t right for you to eat me.”

Eigis raised his eyebrows, amused but clearly still not convinced. “I fail to see otherwise.”

Hiryu pursed his lips in thought then twisted his mouth and finally sighed through his nose. He stared at the hard stone floor, splattered with his blood. There was little hope that he could persuade the demon to stop eating him when he’d been eating humans his whole life. But something inside him refused to stay silent. He wanted to argue. Finally he realized something, and raised his head.